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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-05-19United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSMonday, 19 May 1997This document is prepared by the Central News Section of the Department of Public Information and is updated every week-day at approximately 6:00 PM. HEADLINES
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed satisfaction that a transfer of power has taken place in Kinshasa, without major loss of life. United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard said the Secretary-General called for continued restraint from all parties. "The Secretary-General trusts that the Government that is expected to be formed early this week would be broad-based, including other political groups, and that the new authorities will work for political reconciliation, democracy and prosperity for the peoples of the country," the Spokesman said. Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the Great Lakes region, Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, on Sunday met with the leader of the Alliance of the Democratic Forces, Mr. Laurent Kabila, in Mombashi. "The Secretary-General welcomed the assurances his special representative has received on cooperation with international organizations. The Secretary- General expects the new authorities to work closely with the United Nations and the international community in assuring that the human rights of all are fully respected and that the victims of the conflict, in particular refugees, receive all necessary assistance", the Spokesman stated. According to the Spokesman, the Secretary-General called on all Member States to extend generous assistance to the governments and peoples of the Great Lakes region, to enable them to recover from the ravages of war and to fulfill their economic potential. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has arrived in Vienna on his first official visit to Austria, whose capital is the home of the third United Nations headquarters. On Monday, the Secretary-General met with the United States Ambassador to Vienna, Ambassador Swanee Hunt, the Deputy President of Bosnia, Mr. Ejup Ganic, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor, Mr. Wolfgang Schussel. Among the issues discussed was the newly created Centre for Democracy in Vienna. Commenting on the impact of the Centre on the Balkan region, Mr. Annan said there was a need to restore democracy and to get people to accept the primacy of the rule of law and respect for the rule of law. "I think what the Centre is trying to do complements and is in direct line with the UN Charter. And I am really pleased that the Governments of Austria, Bosnia and the United States have come together to create this independent institution which is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and to the betterment of life in the region", Mr. Annan said. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at facilitating systematic, predictable, cooperative action between the two organizations. The Memorandum of Understanding also seeks to build on the recognised expertise of each organization and to establish operational modalities of cooperation. The scope of the Memorandum encompasses persons of concern to each organisation, including, among others, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers, returnees and internally displaced persons. The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. James Gustav Speth has outlined a number of features for what he sees as the "emerging new UNDP". Mr. Speth told the UNDP Executive Board that the new UNDP would capitalize on its operational role at the country level. He said key operational decisions, more financial and human resources and more relevant technical support would be placed in the field. Other features of the new UNDP call for the Programme to seek to leverage its resource base to attract more funds for nationally defined sustainable human development goals. "The new UNDP will actively support and fit into the process of UN reform", Mr Speth said. He noted that it would, in particular, do so by facilitating much closer coordination of operational activities at the country and headquarters levels, and by achieving greater efficiency through re- engineered management and business processes. The Group of 77 developing countries has welcomed the recent decision by the United Kingdom to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Education Organization (UNESCO) after a twelve- year absence. In a statement issued in New York, the Group of 77 said the return of the United Kingdom to UNESCO would strengthen the principle of universality on which the United Nations system was founded and would enhance multilateral cooperation. The Group expressed the hope that the United Kingdom would also reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Vienna-based United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). The announcement by the United Kingdom to rejoin UNESCO was also welcomed by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Mr. Annan said last week that the decision was a demonstration of the importance of the multilateral system in an increasingly interdependent world. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted on Friday new strengthened measures for use by its inspectors to verify the compliance of States with commitments not to produce nuclear weapons. The action follows a two-day special meeting in Vienna of the Board of Governors of the IAEA, the United Nations body charged with fostering the development of peaceful uses of atomic energy. The Board's Chairman, Ambassador Peter Walker of Canada, said the latest action was "a major achievement, crowning five years of effort by IAEA Member States and the Secretariat". In a statement on Friday, the IAEA said the new measures would provide enhanced access for inspectors to information about current and planned nuclear programmes of States, and to more locations on their territory. According to the IAEA, the new measures include the use of state-of- the- art technologies to trace activity through samples taken from the environment and to remotely operate surveillance and monitoring systems at key locations in the inspected state. The Director-General of the IAEA, Hans Blix hailed the new measures as an important chapter in the history of the agency, adding that the Secretariat stood ready to move ahead with the implementation as soon as individual States subscribed. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has urged the Government of Zimbabwe, among other things, to ensure free and compulsory primary education to all children in the country. Concluding its three-week meeting in Geneva on Friday, the 18-member body of experts set up by the United Nations to assist in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made recommendations on reports made by Zimbabwe, the Russian Federation, Peru and Libya. It also recommended that immediate steps be taken to ensure the payment of wages by both the State and private enterprises in the Russian Federation. In related actions, the Committee called for forceful action to eliminate discrimination afflicting indigenous populations in Peru; and recommended that the status and working conditions of foreign workers in Libya be improved without undue delay. The Committee's recommendations followed a dialogue with delegations from all four countries based on reports their Governments had submitted. The President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rakhmonov, and the Tajik Opposition have signed a Memorandum and Protocol on Political issues after their summit meeting in Khyrgystan on Sunday, a UN Spokesman announced on Monday. The Memorandum includes the lifting of the ban on political parties and movements. The next round of inter-Tajik talks is scheduled to open in Teheran on Tuesday. The Government of the Republic of Korea has decided to contribute about $10 million in additional humanitarian aid to the third United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Republic of Korea will contribute 50,000 tons of corn and 300 tons of powdered milk to the appeal in order to help alleviate the food shortage difficulties currently faced by DPRK. For information purposes only - - not an official record From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgUnited Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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